The Rising Storm
by TerminalMadness83
Summary: The hour of the mutants is drawing to a close...
1. Chapter One: Bad Moon Rising

** THE RISING STORM**

By Felix Vasquez

"Conservative party presidential candidate Arnold Helmsley made it through presidential debates on Tuesday with a soaring 99 percent approval rating from the American public after his shocking and controversial lecture on what he calls the "potential threat of Mutant population growth", here's the speech made yesterday at 42nd street and Broadway in Manhattan yesterday--"

"--Mutants are a menace to society," he continued, "They must be chopped down and stifled with much regard to our safety. They are monsters! They are the scum left over at the evolutionary pool. I suggest we install collars upon these beings to stifle their powers, and to serve as patrolmen, we'll have Sentinel units at every corner watching their every move. Sure, it may sound cruel, but in the long run it's a precautionary action that must be enforced! These people have abilities to hack into ATM Machines, decode military arms, and walk into someone's homes and kill them without a moments thought of conscience. Before you consider their welfare think about yours as an American citizen. Look at your children and think what if they were killed by these animals? They are truly the bane of humanity, so, today I urge you all, if you are truly Americans, I urge you to strike against mutants! They are not human--!"

"--That was presidential candidate Arnold Helmsley's rousing and controversial speech which sparked debate and backlash against liberals all over the country and have sparked a war on the street and across the city with his crazed gang of followers and New York citizens calling themselves American patriots sparking mass hate crimes against anyone who even looks different and continue to launch cocktail bombs into stores accused of harboring mutant fugitives," the reporter continued, "these are indeed incidents very reminiscent of the past--" 

The screen froze to a pause as Logan sat at the couch with his remote and a bottle of beer, "Bastard," he declared angrily.

"They actually let this go on in Manhattan?" asked Cyclops as he stood beside Jean watching behind the couch standing angrily.

"God Bless America," replied Logan sarcastically, "My home sweet home."

"What are they doing?" asked Jean.

"Picketing," replied Cyclops as he watched the television with gritted teeth.

"What do the signs say?" asked Jean, squinting her eyes.

"Mutants go to hell," he replied angrily.

"How does this man have a 99 percent approval rating for suggesting that mutants be killed?" asked Cyclops in disbelief.

"Easy," replied Beast, as he sat on the love chair across Wolverine reading, "Mutants make up five percent of the population, we're not even considered human; people like what he has to say."

"He's suggesting death," replied Jean.

"He's suggesting extinguishing a new race," replied Beast, "A race no one knows nothing about… brings about a scent of dejavu, does it not?"

"He's a monster," declared Jean.

"He's ** _human_**," argued Beast, "humans destroy what they do not understand."

"He's not destroying **_us_**," declared Wolverine, "That's for damn sure." Storm stood among her class of students reading literature as the students gazed at her. Some were falling into a deep sleep, and others listened on eager ears.

"Does anyone know why we have codenames?" asked Storm.

"Because they sound cool?" replied a Student as the class laughed.

"No," she replied, "Like many of the World War spies, we refer to each other with codenames to risk from being discovered."

"By who?" asked a student.

"People who seek to kill us," she replied, "There are people who would love to capture us, and we only identify each other by codenames in the battlefield to protect our identities."

"This is getting ridiculous," Cyclops said perched among the edge of his bed.

"What is?" asked Jean.

"Helmsley," he replied, "Am I the only one worried about him?"

"Not exactly," she replied, "**_Everyone_** is, but there's nothing we can do."

"We can stop him," replied Scott.

"And we'll be no better than Magneto," she replied, "The Professor believes in co-existence with humans. We just have to ride out the storm."

"It's not so easy," he replied, "how do you react in situations like this?"

"No one knows," she replied, "Its okay to feel angry and hate."

"This man has influence on the government," warned Scott, "This could escalate, I know it."

"What is it called?" Firestarter asked looking up at the sky, "It's uh---uh—"

"Eminent light!" Chi replied.

"Right!" he replied with a smile, "It keeps the stars from showing because of the lights from below. But if you're ever in the country, you can see a whole bunch of them."

"Shoot," she exclaimed, "I've **_only_** been in the city; first England now New York."

"Well, I once saw the stars when I was five," he replied, "My parents took me to see my grandparents in Long Island and we drove to their friends' house and when we stopped at the yard, I stepped out and looked up in shock and there it was, a whole crop of stars glimmering down below… it was so incredible… it was only something I've seen in movies, never really been able to see it in the flesh."

"Wow," she replied, "Well, I don't mind there being no stars, I think its okay being here with **_you_**."

"I told you you'd like Rockefeller Center," he replied with a smile, "Sorry about the cold, though."

"Why don't you heat us up?" she asked rubbing her glove covered hands together as the cold nipped at her cheeks, "You can light fires, right?"

"I wish I could," he replied, "But **_General_** Cyclops told me ten times before I left, "Do-not, under-any-circumstances-use-your-powers in public", blah, blah."

"He's strict," she replied.

"He's ** _annoying_**," joked Phil. It was around Christmas time; Phil and Chi were school mates at the Xavier Institute for higher learning, he was a counselor and she was a student, but their age difference was a mere four years apart. She was a beautiful blonde energy mutant from England and he was pyrokinetic senior who instantly formed a bond from their recent scuffle with the malevolent being known as Apocalypse.

"I've never been here before," she replied, "It was straight from England and then to New York and I hid myself in the school."

"Well, I'm glad you came here," he replied, "School wouldn't be the same without you."

"Thanks," she replied with a nervous chuckle. He playfully pulled her winter hat down to her nose with a laugh as she tapped him and pulled it back up to her forehead.

"Sorry," he replied laughing, "I just **_had_** to."

"Yeah, well, you're lucky you're not wearing one," she replied laughing. She stopped laughing and looked into his eyes her smile slowly fading, "Hey…you know your eyes glimmer when you smile?" she asked.

"They do?" he asked.

"Sure," she replied, "You never noticed that before? It's kinda cute."

"Well, I feel the same way about you," he leaned in slowly and gently kissed her on the lips and they stared into each other's eyes sharing a moment in New York that only happens once in a lifetime.

"Wait," she softly said pulling back, "What about the others?"

"Eh, I'll kiss them later," he replied with a smirk, "You know, I wasn't going to tell you this, but this is my first date I've ever been on."

"Really?" she asked, "How's that?"

"Well, when you spend most of your life trying to survive, the last thing you worry about is dating," he replied.

"I'm… glad I was your first," she replied.

They looked to the side as they gasped looking down the barrel of a gun that stuck at their face, "Alright," a man said holding the gun at them, "give me any money you got and I won't kill you."

"Oh my god," Chi said instantly breaking into tears as she crept behind Phil in fright.

"Listen…we don't want any trouble," Phil replied sternly.

"There won't be bright eyes," he replied, "Just gimme your money and you won't go home in a body bag."

"But…We don't have any money," replied Chi nervously, "Please leave us alone."

"Put the gun down," Phil said sternly, "We don't want trouble."

"Shut up!" ordered the gunman.

"Look, two things are going to happen," he explained, "either you're putting the gun down and walking away, or I'm going to kill you."

"Phil please," Chi begged near tears.

"Don't be a hero, moron. He's got a big mouth," the gunman said, "You're really dumb for a bunch of "Mutie" freaks."

"What did you say?" asked Phil angrily as Chi began pulling his arm nervously, "How did--?"

"I heard you talking," he replied, "You're two freaks… you know maybe I **_should_** kill you, save the world some trouble and be a hero."

"Just walk away," Chi said pushing him back in a whimper, "He'll kill you."

"You want to kill us?" asked Phil, "Is that it?" He pushed Chi out of his way and quickly approached the gunman pressing against the gun barrel.

"Stop!" Chi screamed.

"You want to kill me?" asked Phil, "Go ahead."

"W-What?" asked the gunman.

"Kill me," he replied, "I'm not afraid to die, you said it, I'm just a mutant freak, who cares. You don't care about killing me, right?"

"Please, stop, Phil!" Chi begged.

"Back off!" the gunman ordered.

"What, you're afraid now?" asked Phil, "Kill me, you rat. Come on!" He yanked the gun and put it to the front of his head staring down at the gunman, "Kill me!"

"Wha—you—you're--"

"Do it!" Phil screamed sticking his arms out, "I'm at your mercy." The gunman put his gun down and ran off frightened as Chi watched in horror at the revelation she'd just received about Phil. She watched as he paced watching the gunman run off, his eyes as white as pearls, his body tense, and on his face she saw something she'd never seen before, a suicidal presence that frightened her to the bone. He looked over to her in shame as she stared at him in a familiar expression: Fear.

"And so," Beast said reading a newspaper aloud among Scott and Jean, "Helmsley leads the presidential race for office gaining new endorsements from respected politicians on Congress."

"Nothing like good news to brighten up your morning," replied Scott sipping his coffee.

"What do you suppose we do?" asked Beast.

"There's nothing**_ to_** do," replied Logan.

"Something has to be done," replied Cyclops, "how can they let an evil man like Helmsley climb his way into office?"

"Money," replied Logan, "Money buys everything."  
"Yeah, well, I'm not taking this lying down," he declared storming off. 


	2. Chapter Two: Devil's Advocate

**CHAPTER TWO: DEVIL'S ADVOCATE**

Phil stood at his desk at the classroom looking down into the surface, pondering and thinking over and over about that night.

"Funny," Storm said standing at the door, "This place doesn't seem as small without the kids in it."

"I'm uh… glad," he replied in a daze, "This place is quieter now that everyone is on vacation. But alas, there are still a few of them here. Can't quite find a way to get rid of them."

"Diane told me what happened," replied Storm.

"She did?" he asked, "She… hasn't talked to me since last night."

"She's pretty distraught," replied Storm.

"Look, I'm not proud of what I did," he replied, "I was just… angry… and, something clicked. I always had problems controlling my temper, you know that. But… when he called me that name," he pounded his fist down on the desk angrily, "When he called… **_Diane _**that name… Diane… he called her that disgusting name. I couldn't take it, anymore."

"It's okay," Storm replied comforting him, "We all have those moments."

"You should have seen the way she looked at me," he said with glassy eyes, "It's the look I've seen since I was five: Fear, hatred, shame… I never thought I'd get that look from her."

"Give her time," Storm assured him, "She has a lot to take in and think about."

"They hate us," replied Phil looking down into the desk, "The humans… they…he wanted to kill me, and I would have let him. He said the world would be better off, and I realized something, the world **_would_** be better off without us."

"That's not true," replied Storm.

"Is it?" he asked, "Tell me: Do you think anybody out there would care if we all just up and died one day?"

"People in **_here_** would," she replied, "Despite what you think, we **_do _ **matter."

"There's a man who might become president that is rallying an army to kill mutants," he replied, "That's not what**_ I_** would call the road to progress."

"We have to keep it together," Storm explained, "We're a family; we have to stay alive and fight, or else they win."

"Well, I'm tired of fighting," he replied, "I've been fighting since I was born. You know I spent nearly five years out on the streets… homeless… I was fishing out of garbage cans, eating week old bread… I slept in abandoned buildings… gutters…nearly got killed by some gang members…"

"…What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger," replied Storm, "You have to believe that. Without hope, mutants will be destroyed."

"I have to go," he said walking off as she watched him leave. She felt pity for him and sorrow in the fact that she knew what he felt, for she'd felt the exact same way at times. Phil realized he wanted to die, he hated his own body, and he hated his existence.

"What do we do?" asked Scott as he sat across the Professor.

"What ** _can _**we do?" asked the Professor.

"You're not concerned about this?" asked Cyclops smacking the newspaper on the desk.

"No," replied the professor.

"He wants to give us special collars to suppress our abilities," he said reading from the newspaper, "and he wants to register us and monitor us through computer, and, here's the topper, "he wants special arm bands or sashes given to every mutant to be identified". And that does not spark some concern?"

"What we should be more concerned about is retaliation," replied the professor.

"Retaliation?" asked Cyclops.

"You've read the paper," replied the Professor, "He has an army of followers and "Patriots" doing the violent work while he dances for Congress in Washington."

"You think they're going to strike here?" asked Cyclops.

"It's not completely out of the question," replied the Professor, "I'm sure there have been rumors of this place and what we do here."

"We have security here," argued Cyclops, "We have a fortress."

"They have terrorists who can bypass it," replied the Professor, "They have chemical warfare."

"So what are you suggesting?"

"We keep our minds on our home, we have a lot to lose," explained the Professor, "We worry about Helmsley later. We can expect quite a bit of trouble and controversy to come our way." Scott stood up and walked off, unsure and unsatisfied at the Professor's answer; it wasn't what he expected, it wasn't what he wanted to hear. Scott wasn't sure **_what_** he wanted to hear from Professor X, but it wasn't what he'd been told.

He sat at the study slowly sipping from his coffee mug as he sat by the fire, watching the flames dance along the wood. Jean walked in noticing his dismay and discomfort, 

"How did it go?" She asked.

"Not how I'd expected," replied Cyclops.

"What did he tell you?" asked Jean.

"We're sitting ducks," he replied, "All we can do is stay here and keep anyone from attempting to break in here and stir up trouble." He splashed the coffee angrily into the fireplace stirring the fire down into smoke.

"What do you want, Scott?" she asked angrily.

"I want to feel safe," he replied, "and until Helmsley is run out of office, I'm not going to. He's a danger, and no one wants to see that."

"We **_want_** to see that and we ** _do_** see that," she argued, "But what you want is things done in a quick minute, that's not how it works. We have to plan we have to keep from doing anything rash; it takes time and we have kids in this house who we need to think of."

"We don't have that," he replied, "Don't you understand that?" he stormed off angrily as she watched, her mind stirred with many mixed emotions but there was nothing she could say to ease Scott.

"They're mutants," a man said looking through binoculars.

"How do you know?" asked his partner.

"There have been a lot of rumors," he replied, "Rumors about odd activity going on here."

"It's a school of kids," replied his partner, "They're not actually those freaks you hear about on the news."

"We'll see," he replied with a smile, "We'll see. Call the news stations about this place, let's see what stirs up."

Phil zipped up his jacket and slipped his hood over his head cloaking and almost shielding his face as Storm walked in, "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm going out," he replied curtly, "I have to go somewhere to clear my head."

"The Professor said he doesn't want anyone to leave the premises," she declared, "It isn't safe."

"Yeah, what else is new?" he replied, "The world isn't a safe place to be." He stormed off angrily as Storm watched in concern; what could she do for him after all his hope was lost?

The bustling streets of Manhattan stood crowded with city-goers that cloudy day, the streets crowded with cars and taxis as Phil walked through the hordes of empty faces along the sidewalk, the rain pouring down like a rude awakening upon his ponderous gaze. He pressed forward through the rain soaked streets as he watched angry patrons carrying picket signs and hollering anti- mutant propaganda as passer by. "Stop the mutant menace!" a young bald man hollered handing him a pamphlet with the black words, "They're animals!" on it. He dropped the pamphlet into a gutter and continued suddenly feeling a presence behind him. He stopped and looked back with furrowed brows, he peered up into the skyscrapers but saw no one, and continued with a shrug.

He continued into a backstreet and ran to a wall, crept up against it in the shade and awaited the presence he felt. Suddenly a loud whirring sound arose and within an instant a metallic pole ripped from its roots and slammed into his chest wrapping around his torso as he screamed in horror. Finally it stopped as he began to struggle, looking down in disbelief, "Aw, crap," he exclaimed. A large shadowy figure slowly hovered down in front of him, a large indistinct man dressed in a brown trench coat and fedora. "What's going on?" he grunted with every breath he could conjure as the pole tightened.

"A chat," he replied.

"Magneto," Phil muttered in disbelief.

"Call me Erik," he replied taking his fedora off, "Let's not be so formal, shall we?"

"What do you want from me?" he asked, "I don't have anything you want."

"I beg to differ," replied Erik, "You have something I need, something indeed useful to my new organization." A police officer walked by watching the two, a gleam of hope rose in Phil's eyes but quickly faded as the officer transformed into Mystique in all her indigo appearance, a large smile plastered along her face.

"Do you know my associate, Mystique?" he asked with a smug smile.

"Where did he go?" asked Scott.

"I don't know," replied Storm, "He was rather angry when he stormed off."

"Maybe its better if we let him cool off for a while," replied Logan, "He ain't comin' back if you order him."

"Maybe we should track him," replied Storm.

"He don't want to be found," argued Logan, "That's why he didn't tell you where he was going; trust me."

"I will use Cerebro to track his exact position," explained the professor, "just to be secure."

"If only Hank were here," Cyclops complained, "Phil would talk to him; and maybe Hank could snap some sense into him."

"Only so much you can do for a kid like that," replied Logan, "Some of them don't come back from their funk."

"You want to kill me?" Phil asked as he stood atop a building roof with Magneto and Mystique.

"I would have, already, my friend," he assured him, ""**_Mystique_** could kill you. No, this time I come in peace and with a proposition for you."

"If you come in peace, then why are you holding me down like this?" he asked.

"Very well," he replied waving his hand as the pole unwrapped dropping to the ground, "Is that better?" He rubbed his arms in pain and watched as Mystique gave a smug smirk to him.

"What do you want from me?" he asked.

"I love New York City," replied Magneto as he looked out onto the New York landscape, "It's such a beautiful prosperous city content with opportunities… there are not many cities in this world with such a variety and freedom my young friend, and that is why we must conserve it, and preserve it and you must drink all it has to offer to a young man like yourself who is so ripe with opportunities."

He stood beside Magneto watching the sun go down into the horizon of the ocean; the rain stopped pouring down, forming a beautiful rainbow along the sky; "Tell me, are you familiar with the current events of late?" he asked.

"Why?" asked Phil.

"He's a man named Arnold Helmsley," he explained slipping a newspaper beside him, "Do you know him?"

"Y-Yeah," he replied reading the paper, "He's running for president; he's really against mutants."

"Precisely," he replied, "Let me show you something that was given to me decades ago before you were born." He took off his glove and rolled down his sleeve revealing a code number etched into the front of his hand.

"It's-- like a code number," replied Phil furrowing his brows, "—it looks like--"

"The same they used in Concentration Camps in Germany," replied Mystique.

"It's a product of hatred; I was a prisoner of camp, a prisoner of the Holocaust back in 1939," he replied, "They moved us like cattle to the slaughter… through different cramped trains to different camps… I survived… I was just a little boy... I never experienced the finest life had to offer, but I **_did_** experience the worst of what man kind has to offer each other, what man kind has to offer **_us_**."

"What's that?" he asked.

"Nothing," replied Erik.

"I'm sorry that happened to you," he replied.

"As am I; I survived the holocaust my young friend," he replied, "I do not want to live to see another one. Arnold Helmsley is an anti-mutant supporter, he's powerful, resourceful."

"What do you mean, "another one"?" he asked.

"As Arnold Helmsley rises to power, he will also give birth to a dark era in mutant kind," explained Erik, "In becoming president he will also begin a **_mutant_** holocaust and I fear there will be no end to**_ this_** one."

"You don't actually believe that propaganda, do you?" he asked with a chuckle, "**_Do you?_**"

"I do," he replied with a nod, "There is a rising storm upon us my young friend; the hour of the mutants is drawing near a close. Tomorrow may be our last day of freedom."


	3. Chapter Three: Choices

** CHAPTER THREE: CHOICES**

"I understand that," replied Phil, "But why did you come to me when you could go to the Professor?"

"Charles is a good man," he explained, "I do not doubt that, but he's an idealist, and in many ways as naïve as a child."

"He believes that if we leave well enough alone things will just settle themselves," explained Mystique, "But look around you. There are riots, protestors, carnage on the streets. These human people are ready to kill anyone who's different from them."

"Events that very much remind me of the start of the holocaust," Erik continued, "He's no different from Hitler. He's an immaculate speaker, a swift and tactful leader, and a bit mad, but brilliant, and under his rule this country will extinguish mutants. He's giving them permission to hate, he's giving them permission to kill one another like a witch hunt for the sake of "Patriotism"… patriotism, what foolish a term created."

"I don't believe that," argued Phil, "The professor believes that won't happen, we--"

"—You what? Hmm?" he asked with a smirk turning towards Phil, "What can you do to attackers when you're encouraged to be non-violent people? How can you defend your home when he doesn't want to expose himself? I see it in your eyes; you and every child in that mansion are like him; wide-eyed and hopeful full of a world view that can never and **_will _**never be, hoping someday you can be accepted," he said pointing at him, "but sometimes hope is all we have, and sometimes hope means nothing." Phil sighed looking down into the paper with Helmsley's glorified picture plastered on the front page as he stood among a podium, and realized Magneto's words were clearly resonant in his mind.

"There are two different ways a mutant can evolve into in this modern era," he explained, "You must either hide your gifts and pretend be human or live underground with the Morlocks feeding off of waste and living like Nomads."

"I'm not ending up like that," argued Phil.

"Sure," replied Mystique sarcastically, "Face it. You must choose between one or the other… there's no third option; not for us."

"I am building a resistance," he replied putting on his glove, "a resistance of young powerful mutants exactly like you that are prepared to fight for what we believe in. Young warriors who are willing to be proud of what they are and live the way they please."

"I'm not like you," he replied.

"Precisely," he replied, "Which is why I want you in my army."

"Army?" asked Phil.

"When Arnold rises to power, and **_he will_**, my army will prepare to battle him on the other end of the battlefield," he explained, "To the death. We must stop him before he begins his reign of terror."

"I… I don't know," he replied conflicted.

"The rebels of the Warsaw ghetto were powerful," Erik said, "They were heroes, and visionaries but failed to stop Hitler. We will be **_early_** and victorious and bring upon a wave of firepower and resistance the likes of which the gods have never seen before."

"I'm not a killer," he argued.

"Killer? Hah! Soldier!" Erik replied, "Soldiers do what they must. Sometimes you must cut to cure."

"And if I say no?" he asked, "What will you do then? Would you kill me?"

"I'm a soldier, not a murderer," Erik replied, "You deny my offer and you can live with Charles in your imaginary Utopia and risk the vultures and Jackals corrupting your paradise and risk being enslaved by the government."

"Where can I contact you?" he asked confused.

"I will find **_you_** when the time is right," replied Erik as he put on his fedora. He walked over to Phil, patted him on the shoulder casually and looked into his vulnerable eyes, "I will not fail my kind and I refuse to live under the rule of a human. Join me like so many others and fight."

Mystique walked towards Erik as he stood in the center of the roof looking over at Phil who stood dazed and perplexed, grasping the paper in his hands,

"Consider my offer, my young friend," he declared, "You will find that I'm not the mongrel Charles has led me to be." He looked back with a smile and began to hover, "I take It you can find your own way down, correct?" Phil looked up and nodded slowly as Mystique watched Eric fly off.

"Welcome to rebellion," she replied with a sly smile as she blew him a kiss playfully. She turned around transformed into a hawk and flew off into the horizon. Phil didn't know where his feelings lied with; he was scared and filled with so much hatred and fear.

He slowly walked along the path that led to the front gates of the mansion and stopped in horror as crowds of protestors and news reporters swarmed along the cobblestone path. He could barely comprehend the sight he'd witnessed as lines of protestors hollered profanities and threats towards the doors of the mansion. He lurched back and hid behind a tree out of sight and ran off into the woods. He flew slowly up the back way of the long wall and down into the field where he saw toys and sports equipment strewn about. Jean caught his sight and walked out onto the patio calling to him as he rushed into the house.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Protestors," she replied, "Someone leaked out rumors about the school and they swarmed to the gates within hours."

"This is ridiculous," he complained.

"All the remaining students have been ordered to remain in the house," she explained, "And that means **_you_**."

"What about everyone else?" he asked.

"All the other children on vacation will stay in their homes with their families until everything dies down," she replied.

The remaining children stood by the window watching the protestors as Storm called to them, "Alright, kids can we get back to what we were doing, please?" she asked closing the curtains as they walked to their desks.

"What's going on?" asked a child.

"Nothing," she replied opening a book, "Read or study or something."

"I heard they have road blocks down the street to prevent us from going out into the city," said a student.

"That's not true," she replied.

"Then how come we can't leave?" asked a student.

"Because they want to hurt you," she replied, "and we won't let that happen." Scott sat in the study watching the fireplace as the professor entered, perplexed at the activity outside the mansion.

"Do you see?" asked Scott, "This is it. It is happening."

"It's nothing," argued the professor, "In an hour it will die down."

"It's been two," he replied.

"Then what would you have me do?!" he asked, "Storm the gates of Washington and kill every man and woman who support Helmsley?!"

"No!" screamed Scott standing up, "It's about time you came to face with what's happening Charles! Wake up! There are people outside the house who want to kill us!"

"You're exaggerating!" he replied.

"Am I?!" he asked, "Then you go ahead and explain to those children why there are people out there with signs saying "Go to hell, mutants"! You tell them that there are people out there who want to string them up by their legs and burn them alive because they're mutants!"

"I will not!" he screamed, "That's not going to happen! We must prevent a war! If we act now, we'll give them what they want and every mutant terrorist and soldier of Magneto will storm Washington's gates with the intent to murder him and begin a war!"

"Maybe that's what best!" he screamed. The entire school came to a stand still as Logan and Jean Grey stood in the kitchen listening to the screams; the argument echoed through the halls, the children listening by the doorway as the screams continued with the clash of wills. Phil sat at the stairway listening to their screams as he could hear the words of Magneto echoing through his mind.

"Do you not understand that is what they want?" asked Charles, "If we go out there and chase them off, fight every person who means to do us harm, we will expose ourselves and give them cause to begin Helmsley's plans."

"You can't fight the inevitable," he replied storming off, "A war is coming, and when it does we'll be on the losing side."

He walked past Phil and rushed off into the steps as Jean followed; Logan stood by the doorway watching in confliction,

"Where'd you go?" he asked suspiciously.

"Out," replied Phil. He tilted his head analyzing his appearance and sniffed very slowly with furrowed brows, "You have a scent on you," he replied analyzing him, "It's very familiar."

"Bye Logan," he replied angrily as he walked off up into the stairs. Logan recognized the scent, it was a smell he'd remembered by heart; Magneto.

"What do you suspect he will do?" asked Mystique as Magneto sat at his chair looking down and pondering.

"He will join," he replied with confidence, "Young people… they are very vulnerable. He will be a great asset to my army as all the others are. Once we destroy Helmsley, we will then destroy the X-men."

"He won't betray them," argued Mystique.

"A year under my rule and he will be convinced they are the enemy," replied Magneto, "But first, we'll solve the problem and kill Helmsley."

"When it all comes tumbling down, he'll regret it," Scott said standing by the window as Jean consoled him. Storm sat in front of the curious class who heard the protests outside.

"Back to work!" she ordered. Suddenly the window exploded from its frame as a cocktail bomb burst through the glass onto the floor. Storm staggered back as the children screamed in horror. "Get back!" she screamed as they hollered in fright; Scott, Logan, and Jean rushed into the room as the fire quickly spread along the curtains, the children running out of the classroom. Cyclops grabbed a fire extinguisher and sprayed furiously along the drapes as the children whimpered and muttered in fright.

"I-It's okay," Storm said in shock as she attempted to gather the children, "Let's go to the recreational room, shall we?"

"Who did this?" asked Scott as he looked down onto the extinguished charred carpet and drapes. They looked out as a car full of Skinheads drove off, the men laughing and heckling them.

"Dirty son of a--"

"—Logan!" Scott and Jean said holding him back from anger, "That's what they want," Scott replied, "Calm down."

"Everyone's okay," Jean assured him, "We have to get away from the window."

Up in the gym, Phil was none the wiser of the events taking place below and lifted weights as he continued pondering on the words given to him by Magneto, words that lingered in his mind like a bell. How could he join the X-men's nemesis? But, how could he stand by and let Helmsley attempt to enslave the mutants? Could he betray the people who were his entire family, could he betray his mentor, Beast? He stopped and gazed into the ceiling panting heavily, a million thoughts racing through his mind. Chi walked into the gym with her tote bag and stopped as she saw him lying down.

"Hi," he said looking over to her in surprise.

"Hey," she replied walking past him. He stood up and followed her as she dropped her bag sitting at a treadmill.

"Can we talk?" he asked.

"Talk," she replied coldly.

"About what happened the other night," he explained, "I wasn't--"

"It's alright," she replied, "I'm alright."

"You are?" he asked with a smile, "Good… because I was thinking maybe we can start over."

"I—I don't know," she replied, "I'm not in the mood for a new relationship or anything like that."

"Oh," he said saddened and discouraged, "Then can we just be friends again?"

"Listen," she said nervously getting off the treadmill, "I think it will do us good if we set some boundaries between each other."

"Boundaries," he replied saddened knowing what she meant, "I get it. I thought we had something between us."

"We don't," she replied coldly in a quivery voice, "I'm sorry." She wiped her face of sweat and turned in shame, "What happened that night, you weren't the same person… you scared me."

"It was just one time," he assured her sitting besides her attempting to comfort her, "Don't you understand? I only acted that way because of what he called you."

"Still," she replied moving away from him, "You scared me; I saw someone at that moment, someone who wanted to die… and I can't be with someone who scares me… I'm sorry."

"Fine," he said standing over her as she gazed down with tears in her eyes, "That's how you want it; Good." He walked off and stopped looking back at her, "I thought you were different," he muttered, "I thought we were close… but you're just like everyone else. You see something you don't understand and you move away… I'm out of your life."

She looked back in tears as the door slammed loudly behind her; it was something she didn't want to do, but had to. Phil walked down the steps with a stone-faced expression as the children ran by him. He walked by Storm who noticed his dismay, "Are you okay?" she asked concerned. "I'm fine," he replied gazing down into the floor, "I made a decision." 


	4. Chapter Four: Darkest Hour

**CHAPTER FOUR: DARKEST HOUR  
**

The swarm of lecherous reporters had died down in front of the mansion and the night seemed oddly settled as Scott and Logan finished boarding up the windows in the classroom.

"It looks like everything's died down out there," said Scott.

"**_Looks_** like," replied Logan, "But I wouldn't host any picnics just yet." Phil stood by the phone, began dialing and waited, "Hello," he said with a whisper, "Mr. McCoy? It's Phil… can I talk to you?"

Phil hung up the phone and sat by the phone as he looked down in a daze, "How's Hank?" asked Logan.

"He's okay," replied Phil, "He's coming back in two or three days."

"Whiskey?" he asked sticking his glass out to him as he rejected. He took a slow sip and looked over at him, "Came to a decision, yet?"

"D-Decision?"

"Magneto came to you, didn't he?" asked Logan, "He offered you something."

"Probably," replied Phil, "He made some interesting points."

"I'm sure he did," replied Logan, "He's a master spin doctor."

"How so?" asked Phil.

"He's great with the speeches," replied Logan, "How else do you think he wrangled up his brotherhood?"

"He asked for me personally," argued Phil.

"He asked for **_all _**of them **_personally_**," replied Logan.

"What if he's right?" asked Phil, "What if we're looking at the brink of a mutant holocaust and tomorrow we wake up, our school is gone and we're building stuff and dying in prisons because of Helmsley? Wouldn't you rather fight for freedom?"

"**_Better_** to die fighting," replied Logan, "But not under Magneto's watch."

"The professor is clueless, like everyone else is," replied Phil, "Even **_Scott_** doesn't know what to do, and Mr. McCoy is stumped."

"Right now **_nobody _**knows what to do," argued Logan, "But that ain't reason to abandon your kind."

"I'm not abandoning anyone," replied Phil, "I'm just thinking. Those people out there are ready to kill us the first chance they get and I don't want to die." He stood up and walked off, "Hey kid," Logan called as Phil stopped at the doorway, "I like you… which is why I'm asking you: Don't join him. Think about it."

Phil stood in his room packing his bags as Chi walked in curiously watching him quickly stuff his clothes in his suitcase.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Out," he replied coldly.

"I heard that you're leaving school for good," she said.

"Shouldn't listen to rumors," replied Phil, "They're not all true."

"I-Is it because of me?" she asked.

"You, them, everyone," he replied, "I'm sick of being looked at like I'm a freak when I go to the store… I have to leave for a little while to think things over, clear my head. I'm burnt out here teaching, hiding in this place day after day."

"We all need you here," she argued.

"No, you don't," he insisted, "No one does. Scott is distracted, Jean is worried, the professor is in a corner, no one is in school, I can feel the tension and it's terrible. There's something in the air, and I can feel it, something is going down and very soon. You know what stores are beginning to have now? Hmm? "No Mutants allowed" signs; idiots. Like they could tell; half of the mutants in this world don't even look like mutants. It's all based on rumors and propaganda that we're all one eyed freaks with horns. The media is feeding this cock-eyed stereotype to them and every person from New York to Russia is buying it."

"Look," Chi said, "I'm sorry...I-I got scared and instead of asking you why you did it, I pulled away from you." He stopped and looked back at her with a forced half smirk, "Its okay," he replied.

"So, c-can you stay?" she begged.

"No," he replied closing his suitcase shut, "I'm sorry, Diane, it's not that easy."

"Where are you going to go, then?" she asked.

"I called Mr. McCoy and he's staying somewhere in the city and he invited me to stay with him," he explained, "If there's any place to be right now, it's with my mentor."

"It's… not going to be the same here without you," she said with a whimper.

"Yes," he replied, "I'm going to miss you." He picked up his suitcase and walked off as she began to cry knowing he wouldn't be coming back.

"School's out, Diane," he said looking back, "If I were you I'd go back home for a while until the heat dies down."

"I don't want to go home," she argued, "I have to stay here and fight."

"Fine," he replied, "But I'm going while the going's good." He waved to her and walked down the steps as Logan waited for him perched near the doorway.

"Logan," Phil said, "Don't say anything."

"You're leaving," he said almost in disbelief.

"I can't be here," replied Phil, "I'm going out for a while."

"Where to?" he asked.

"My uncle owns a cabin by the Lake in Tahoe," he explained, "I'm going to hide out there for a while." He shook his hand and nodded with assurance, "Good bye, Wolverine. Tell everyone I'll be back very soon." He turned and headed for the door outside into the night as Logan watched him walk through the cobble stone pathway.

"Wait," Diane said running outside. She stopped him and hugged him tightly not wanting to let go of him. She looked into his eyes and kissed him one last time as he prepared to leave the Xavier School for the gifted and his family behind.

"I'll see you," he said looking into her eyes, holding her softly. He walked off into the woods as she watched him disappear into the darkness of the trees and brush of grass. He continued walking to the middle of the path and stopped looking around. "Anytime you're ready," he muttered. He looked back and saw a brown cat run to him and suddenly transform into Mystique who crouched down.

"Nice entrance," he replied.

"You won't need that," she said standing up approaching him.

"Where's Magneto?" he asked.

"I'm taking you to him," she replied, "He's working on the formation of his army as we speak."

She walked ahead and looked back at Phil peered into the bright glowing windows of the mansion, "There's a car waiting for us," she said putting her hand on his shoulder.

"I hope this is best," he said saddened.

"When we're in the middle of war and you're soaking the fruits of your victory, you'll stop wondering," she replied walking off. He sighed and hurled his suitcase into the trees, turned to Mystique and followed her off into the arms of Magneto who awaited his newest soldier for training and the ongoing construction of his rebel army that would fight the humans.

The professor glanced to his side and sighed in sadness lowering his head in disappointment, "Phil is gone," The professor said with a gentle whisper to Scott who peered over at him in surprise.

"How do you know?" he asked.

"He sent me a message," he replied peering into the fire in disappointment, "I read his thoughts."

"He's with Magneto now," Logan said.

"I'm afraid so," replied the professor.

"He's a deserter," declared Cyclops.

"Be easy on the young man," replied The Professor, "He's conflicted, confused and scared. Think about if you were in his place."

"Did he tell you when he'd be back?" asked Storm.

"No," replied the professor, "Maybe it's for the best. He'll return whenever he thinks its right."

"He won't be back," replied Logan. Storm turned, hiding her disappointment and realizing her attempts to save him were in vain.

"It's beginning, isn't it? Just like predicted," said Scott looking out the window, "We're choosing sides, losing friends, retaliating and fighting… its coming already."

"We'll be ready, then," replied Logan, "We'll be ready to fight."

** ONLY THE BEGINNING…**

(Be sure to check out my series of X-men fan fiction **right here** at fanfiction.net)


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